Wolves and Witches

The Chase

Faye ran though the thicket with all her might. Despite her nasci sense, she can’t be on her top speed while she directs the blow of the wind that carries her scent and added by the fatigue of almost a month of fleeing from every hostile being she sensed that approached her.

Erio struggled a few hundred meters behind her as she relies only on his heightened hearing.

“What a bitch!” spat Erio.

“That’s not a nice way to refer a lady.” said the princess while she clung on the wolf’s back.

“Sorry, princess, I guess I’m just pissed because she’s a hard one.” said Erio, though he didn’t really mean it.

“Of, course she would be a hard one,” mused the princess, “After all, she was trained by Gallo for a while.”

The mention of Gallo made Erio flinch a bit. He was his mentor too, and also a father figure to him. How could he have done that to all of them, Erio thought grimly.

“Hey, don’t phase out!” the princess voice broke Erio’s thoughts.

“Right,” he said, now concentrating on the footsteps he was following. It was no easy task especially when your most trusted sense tells you that you’re going the wrong way.

“Princess, sorry to ask you this but I think I need a little help here.” said Erio as he faintly hears the footsteps of their target.

“Hmm…” hummed the princess.

Erio don’t usually ask the princess for help because of her current situation. But the moment seeks a dire action for their mission to be a success.

He stopped running to let the princess do her thing. Elenaia, closed her bright blue eyes and clasp both her hands and said her prayer.

“Heaven and earth

Hear my plea

Grant me thy power

Give my thy strength

Let all creations marvel,

Rain upon the lands we travel.”

Her soft voice sounded like little chimes that echoed inside the grim forest.

Despite the sky was pale blue, rain poured suddenly from nowhere. Prayers are the ultimate forms of magic spells. Though, prayers are strong, they are rarely used in battles as they need a lengthy amount of time to complete.

“Thanks, princess.” said Erio, and zoomed thought the forest again. With the rain restricting the wind’s flow, Erio now can sweetly smell the rose scent from Faye ahead of him.

109 meters, 94…  80… He was gaining fast on her. Maybe her excessive use of her sixth sense made her weaker. 60 meters… 46… 20… Now, Erio can clearly see her dark silhouette criss-crossing by the trees. Ten meters… Five meters…

They were now running side by side… With the rain making their path even more difficult, Erio found an opening to take down the brown, sweet rose smelling lycan.

“Princess…” he said, and Elenaia materialized her broom on her hand, grabbed on it, and floated off Erio’s back.

Erio gathered his momentum and leap off the ground. His bared fangs targeted on the other wolf’s neck but off from her lethal artery. The impact as he clashed against her made them topple over and roll down on the muddy ground.

Despite falling down, Faye wouldn’t give-up without a fight. She growled with menace and snapped on Erio’s leg. They kept rolling and biting each other until they were separated by a large tree on the slope.

Panting and limping, Erio managed to stand back on his feet again. Faye, though broken down and obviously weakened, still bared her feral fangs.

“What’s your problem? We just came here to talk!” hissed Erio, finally lowering his guard.

“Nonsense!” barked the other, “if you wanted to talk, then why would you chase me?”

“Well, because you ran away,” snapped Erio back.

“It was you who first gave that killing intent when I sensed your nasci.” Faye growled.

Then the princess arrived, perched on her broom. She made a wave at the sky and the rain ceased to pour.

 “Be a gentleman Erio, that’s not the proper way to treat a lady.” said the princess.

“Right…” was all he could manage to answer.

He then sat and closed his eyes. A bright glow came from his chest and slowly a white silvery dust seeped off from his fur until he was entirely covered by the dust.

Another difference between lycans and werewolves, aside from their intelligence and control while being in wolf form, is how they transform.

Werewolves needs the power of the moon for them to transform, and its absence to phase back, while Lycans could transform into and back from being wolves at their own will. Their talismans makes the phasing back easier too because instead of shedding off the fur, the necklace turns it into a silvery dust.

“Now then, where were we again?” said Erio as the dust cleared, revealing him wearing his sleek tuxedo and combed back hair.

“If you think you could fool me by lowering your guards, you’re both dead meat.” she sneered.

“We know about, Gallo.” he said.

With the mention of the name, her facial expression changed from hostile to shock, and then rage.

“Where is he!” she growled venomously.

“Easy there… first we’ll have to talk in a friendly manner.” Erio said, stretching his arms towards her in a gesture to keep her calm.

“Talk,” she demanded.

The princess let out a triumphant smile and started.

“Hi, Faye… My name is Princess Elenaia…”